From prison to probation for ex-South San secretary

Silvia Gallegos Neira, 58, is helped up after being handcuffed Thursday May 30, 2013 in the 186th District Court after being sentenced to eight years in prison. The former South San Antonio Independent School District secretary who collected and deposited football game ticket revenue was sentenced for skimming more than $22,000 of the proceeds for herself. less

Silvia Gallegos Neira, 58, is helped up after being handcuffed Thursday May 30, 2013 in the 186th District Court after being sentenced to eight years in prison. The former South San Antonio Independent School ... more

Silvia Gallegos Neira,58, (left) removes her jewelry Thursday May 30, 2013 in the 186th District Court after being sentenced to eight years in prison. The former South San Antonio Independent School District secretary who collected and deposited football game ticket revenue was sentenced for skimming more than $22,000 of the proceeds for herself. less

Silvia Gallegos Neira,58, (left) removes her jewelry Thursday May 30, 2013 in the 186th District Court after being sentenced to eight years in prison. The former South San Antonio Independent School District ... more

Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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Silvia Gallegos Neira,58, (center) smiles while listening to a victim's impact statement Thursday May 30, 2013 in the 186th District Court after being sentenced to eight years in prison. The former South San Antonio Independent School District secretary who collected and deposited football game ticket revenue was sentenced for skimming more than $22,000 of the proceeds for herself. less

Silvia Gallegos Neira,58, (center) smiles while listening to a victim's impact statement Thursday May 30, 2013 in the 186th District Court after being sentenced to eight years in prison. The former South San ... more

Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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Rose Marie Martinez, (right, holding papers) school board president at the South San Antonio Independent School District, reads a victim's impact statement Thursday May 30, 2013 in the 186th District Court where Silvia Gallegos Neira,58, (not pictured) was sentenced to eight years in prison. Neira, a former secretary with the South San Antonio Independent School District, was sentenced for embezzling more than $22,000 from the district. less

Rose Marie Martinez, (right, holding papers) school board president at the South San Antonio Independent School District, reads a victim's impact statement Thursday May 30, 2013 in the 186th District Court ... more

Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

From prison to probation for ex-South San secretary

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SAN ANTONIO — Despite an argument from the South San Antonio Independent School District board, former secretary Silvia Gallegos Neira got her prison sentence for a theft conviction commuted to probation Wednesday.

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State District Judge Maria Teresa Herr ordered Neira to serve the rest of her eight-year sentence on probation.

“Should Ms. Neira not be fully penalized, it will certainly send the wrong message to our community, especially our young, impressionable students,” the board wrote in a letter sent to the judge Oct. 8. “And it will set a bad precedent for those who may consider violating a position of trust in the future.”

Neira pleaded no contest and was convicted in May 2013 of stealing $22,420 in football game revenue over a three-year period. She had worked as secretary to the school district's athletic directors since 2001.

At sentencing, she presented a check for $11,000 to the district.

Herr ordered that Neira, as a term of probation, is to have no contact with the district's trustees, administration or staff and is not allowed to attend any school-related extracurricular or athletic events.

Court records show that Neira has spent 39 days in Bexar County Jail and three months in prison for the felony theft.

Neira is a 1972 graduate of South San. She retired from the district in January 2012. According to court documents, her only reported income is the slightly more than $2,000 a month she gets from her retirement.